Chirac attack
New French government Web site triggers satirical spoof site
July 16, 1997
Web posted at: 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT)PARIS (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac had barely launched his new government Web site when a spoof page appeared -- with a very similar address.
The spoof site, www.elysee.org, clearly tries to provide a "counter voice" to the official chorus of praise on the official Web page, www.elysee.fr.
The official site, launched on Bastille Day, is essentially a public political profile of the conservative president, who is part of what is known as a "cohabitation government" with socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
The Web site is apparently aimed at presenting the president as a significant player on the stage of world politics. The site also outlines the president's views on key political
The graphic layout of the "fake site" is deceptively similar to the official site -- but its satirical and critical content clearly is not. In its apparent attempt to "right the official picture" of the conservative head of state, the spoof site goes as far as to claim that Chirac is a "Socialist at heart."
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